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The Colchester Historical Society is very sad to announce the sudden passing of our dear friend, fellow board member and Festival on the Green chairperson, Joann Riddell. Joann was a tireless and enthusiastic supporter of the Society and for at least a decade sharing her expertise by spearheading our Annual Festival on the Green. We will do our best to continue the Festival in her memory.

If you are, or wish to be, an exhibitor or food provider for the Festival, please contact us via the email associated with this web site: mail@colchesterhistory.org Email is the preferred contact form, but if necessary call 860 608-1207 for additional information. The exhibitor application and information documents can be downloaded from the Festival on the Green web page.

Please help us to continue the tradition of the Annual Festival on the Green by supporting this important event.

Every July for over the last twenty years the Colchester Historical Society holds it’s Annual Festival on the Green on fourth Saturday in July from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The festival features events for the whole family including a quality Craft Show, craft demonstrations, a Fife and Drum Muster, music by the Colchester Regional Chamber Orchestra and a food court.
Exhibitors from Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island bring a variety of arts and crafts including, woodworking, painting, pottery, clothing, jewelry and stained glass. At 10:00 am the Colchester Regional Chamber Orchestra performs in the gazebo on the Green, followed at noon by a Fife and Drum Parade and Muster sponsored by The Colchester Continentals.
Food vendors offer hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, popcorn and ice cream. The rain date is the Sunday following the fourth Saturday in July. For additional information please call 860 608-2911.

The Colchester Historical Society has been selected to participate in StEPs-CT— a statewide, 26-month integrated program of professional development for smaller cultural organizations.

The program is based on the national Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations (StEPs). Since its debut in 2009, StEPs has helped 585 institutions nationwide, including 27 in Connecticut.

The Colchester Historical Society was one of 23 organizations recently accepted into the program after a competitive application process. Support and training comes via curriculum based workshops; coaching from a dedicated mentor; and access to a Connecticut Humanities grant fund earmarked for initiatives related to achieving StEPs-CT program standards. Over the course of the program, the Colchester Historical Society will work to achieve certificates in six areas of museum practice.

StEPs-CT is a program of Connecticut Humanities and the Connecticut League of History Organizations, in partnership with Connecticut Historical Society, based on a curriculum of best practices developed by the American Association for State and Local History.

This is the second offering of the StEPs-CT program. From 2012-14, two dozen Connecticut organizations completed the program. They received some $45,000 in grants and earned 116 StEPs certificates—more than 40% of the total certificates earned by all participating organizations nationwide. Connecticut’s program was the first to integrate the national StEPs curriculum and is viewed as a model for similar programs across the country, according to Scott Wands, manager of grants and programs at Connecticut Humanities.

Connecticut Humanities, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, provides opportunities to explore the history, literature and the vibrant culture that make our state, cities and towns attractive places to live and work. Learn more by visiting www.cthumanities.org.

The Connecticut League of History Organizations (CLHO) builds connections among those who preserve and share the stories and objects of our past. Learn more by visiting www.clho.org.

NEW EXHIBIT COMING SOON!

A SENSE OF PLACE: POSTCARDS FROM THE PAST

In mid-April the Colchester Historical Society Museum will host an exhibit featuring images of notable Colchester buildings once featured on vintage postcards. The exhibit will include a map of the center of town illustrating where these historic structures still stand, or once stood. Some structures have been lost forever, others are easily recognized and still others have been carefully restored. All the images tell the story of Colchester’s past and it’s evolution into the town it is today.